This quote has been stalking me for weeks now: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”– Jim Rohn It gets me. It really gets me. And here’s why: In the business books and blogs we all love, there is constant talk of finding our ‘tribe’, our most ideal clients. We create elaborate customer avatars to dig down into the demographics and psychology of our tribe. And we spend no small part of our time strategizing where we will locate potential tribe members, how we can connect with them

It’s the middle of summer. You’re going camping, and you have the option of two campsites. One is by a running stream. The other is by a pond. Which do you choose? If you’ve ever had a run-in with mosquitoes before, you pick the stream. Running water doesn’t allow algae and rotten leaves to collect and rot on the surface, which means mosquitoes don’t have anywhere to lay their eggs. What does this have to do with writing? If you’re doing the same things over and over again, your writing has become stagnant. Nothing is

The worst piece of writing advice I ever heard was to write the way I talk. The next time you have a conversation, listen to yourself. If you wrote the way you talked, your writing would be riddled with space-filler words and phrases such as “like” and “um” and “you know what I mean?” You’d rely on your inflection to make your meaning clear. Your vocabulary would go right down the toilet. And if you’re anything like me, you’d curse a lot more than palatable for your average business website. Write like you talk always

We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover… but unfortunately, we do. All the time, every day. Hardwired for survival, we look at what’s around and make snap judgments. Is this safe? Will it hurt me? Can I trust it? In a split second, our brains hand back the answer. Yes. Or no. It’s as simple as that. While we like to think we’re more evolved than primal survival mode, the truth is quite different. We don’t have to worry very much about being eaten or slain in a split second these days, but no

The holidays are coming. You know it. I know it. I see Christmas lights going up faster that lightning strikes, and people have started asking me, “Bought your kids any gifts yet?” I have. But before I planned what I’d buy for my family, I thought of what I’d buy for myself. This goes against popular thinking. Buy for yourself? No way. Other people are supposed to buy you gifts! Except when they’re not.

Hunter S. Thompson was the creator of Gonzo Journalism – or as he called himself, “the doctor of journalism” – and the writer of the infamous books Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga, and The Rum Diary. Thompson was known for his drug frenzy-filled stories, his use of powerful verbs and wild descriptions, and the ability to tell a story like a journalist. He was a brilliant, ingenious, erratic writer – fearless, twisted, passionate, and slightly wicked. Even without sharing the same love for firearms or the deep animosity towards

It’s the end of 2011. Smart people are already making plans for the coming year. (The lazy and stupid are getting complacent for the holidays.) I’ve got news for you: The coming year? It’s YOUR year. Introducing the Men with Pens Insanity Sale – a one-time event now extended to January 2, 2012! You might have put some effort into your website already. But deep down, you probably know it needs some attention. Maybe you need better website design. Maybe you need brilliant copy. Maybe you need both. Whatever you need… we’ve got it. We

I simply have to rhapsodize about the following website design from MenWithPens. The site is http://www.petershallard.com - the design is resplendent, the copy compelling, and the content magnificent to boot....

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